A 17-member Indian squad is set to travel to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan where they will compete in the Asian Olympic Games Qualifiers for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics in July.
As per the announcement by United World Wrestling on Thursday, the tournament will be held two days after the Asian Championships (at the same venue) from April 19 to 21.
India will have one wrestler in each category except for the women’s 53kg because the country has already won a quota there, through Antim Panghal. The 19-year-old secured the quota, which is awarded to the respective National Olympic Committee, when she won the bronze medal at the 2023 World Wrestling Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.
However, the women’s wrestling contingent features the likes of Vinesh Phogat, the 2018 Asian Games and 2022 Commonwealth Games medallist, along with Reetika Hooda, the current Under-23 world champion.
While Reetika will compete in 76kg, Vinesh will compete in the 50kg category after having won the national trials for it back in March. She also ended up competing in the trials for the 53kg category despite a Paris quota already having been won for it.
In the freestyle event, Aman Sehrawat will be competing in the 57kg category after having beaten 2020 Tokyo Olympic medallist Ravi Dahiya in the national trials. Sehrawat has had a good start to the season after winning gold at the Zagreb Open in January.
As per all other continental qualifiers, there will be no gold medal, repechage or bronze-medal bouts. The winners of both semi-finals in each Olympic weight class will win a quota for their respective country at Paris 2024.
India’s entries at the 2024 Asian Olympic Games Qualifiers
Freestyle – Aman (57kg), Sujeet (65kg), Jaideep (74kg), Deepak Punia (86kg), Deepak (97kg), Sumit (125kg)
Women – Vinesh (50kg), Anshu (57kg), Mansi (62kg), Nisha (68kg), Reetika (76kg)
Greco-Roman – Sumit (60kg), Ashu (67kg), Vikas (77kg), Sunil (87kg), Nitesh (97kg), Naveen (130kg)